"You're distracted," Francis said as he backed Bash into a corner again.
The two had been sparring for a while and it was clear to Francis that his brother's mind wasn't in the courtyard.
"How's Kenna?" he questioned.
"She'll be fine, she's mostly just sore. I'm mostly concerned that father will go after her again and there's nothing I'll be able to do about it," Bash said.
"I understand how you feel, he's threatened Mary too more than once," Francis replied, "he's angry because she hasn't gotten pregnant but mostly because at this point she probably won't be delivering him England in a neatly wrapped present."
Francis felt his brother's frustration at only being able to do so much for his wife.
"There has to be something we can do. He might be King but that doesn't mean he can bully our wives," Bash said angrily.
Francis wished there was something he could tell his brother but their father was the King and quite frankly he could do whatever he wanted to. However, that didn't mean he couldn't be persuaded...
"The only thing we can do is try and keep him occupied with other things so he doesn't come after Kenna again. Do you know where your mother is? Maybe we could arrange a little trip until your house is ready. My mother and I are pretty much taking care of all the important business so father's presence won't be missed for a few months," Francis proposed.
In truth he would be relieved to have his father out of the way for a while. Mary said that his father's words don't bother her but he didn't like to hear his wife be degraded to nothing but a means to an heir or country.
"The last I heard my mother was staying at her Paris home and I'm sure she'd be more than willing to host father. Who knows, maybe she can talk some sense into him that nobody else has been able to," Bash replied.
"It's settled then, my mother and I will try to feed him the idea of visiting Diane and hopefully his current lack of partners in bed will persuade him to go to her," Francis said. "You know we haven't exactly had much time to talk since you got back, how are things between you and Kenna?" Francis continued.
He hadn't lied when he said those months ago that he hoped Bash would find someone of his own who he loved and who loved him. This wasn't exactly the situation he had imagined for him, but he saw the concern in his eyes for Kenna. Perhaps Mary was right, maybe Bash had come to love his wife.
"She certainly not anyone I ever expected to love, but she's been quite successful at claiming my heart. She didn't have a real childhood and I think a lot of the things that I originally despised about her came from a life of putting her self-preservation first. She hasn't had anyone take care of her in a long time," Bash answered.
Francis smiled, he was glad to know his brother had found happiness in his marriage despite its rocky start. "Up for another bout?"
Kenna opened her eyes at the sound of knocking on the door. Mary and Greer walked in with concerned looks on their faces.
"Oh there is no reason to look like that, I'm not dying," Kenna told them.
"Kenna we were so worried about you though, when we came to see you in the infirmary you hadn't awoken yet. We thought you were dying," Greer replied.
Kenna appreciated her friends concern but she felt like everyone was overreacting. The real damage of the king's anger wasn't her bruised skin but her weakened emotional state and every time someone brought up the encounter it made things worse.
"Well, I'll be fine and there's no reason to dwell on it," Kenna told her friends, "I'm sure you'd much rather hear about my trip."
Greer and Mary nodded excitedly and leaned in. Kenna told her friends about how their stay at the estate had brought her and Bash closer.
"We're in love," she sighed, "I've never felt this way before and I certainly never thought it would be with Bash. I'm so glad we agreed to at least give our marriage a chance despite it not being what either of us originally wanted."
"Oh Kenna that's wonderful," Mary said, "All I ever wanted was happiness for the both of you and I'm glad you've found it in each other."
"Good news," Bash said as he walked in the door that evening.
"What?" Kenna asked.
"Francis has managed to convince father to pay an extended visit to my mother in Paris. Hopefully, he won't be back until our house is finished and we won't have to worry about him."
"I never thought I would be so grateful for Diane..." Kenna said.
Bash laughed and started to get ready for bed, "How was your day? Are you feeling better?"
"I'm feeling much better actually, I should be able to get up and move around tomorrow. And my day was good, Greer and Mary came to visit soon after you left and were here for a few hours. Lola came later for a few moments but she's so close to giving birth and she can't stay out of her room for long."
Bash came over to the bed and sat beside her. Brushing a strand of hair out of her face, he said "Good, I'm glad you weren't by yourself all day. You know, you've been in those clothes for two days now. Would you like me to fetch a maid to help you change into something fresh?"
"Starting to smell am I?" Kenna joked, "I don't think I need a maid if you give me some help. I have a nightgown laid out on the top of that chest over there."
Bash looked uncertain for a second but then he got up and while he was fetching her gown Kenna eased herself out of bed carefully. She held on to the bed frame for support, she was still a little shaky from lying in bed for almost two whole days. Bash walked up behind her and unlaced her dress. He started to pull it off her and she heard him draw up a sharp breath.
"What?" she questioned jokingly, "It's not like you haven't seen my back before."
"It's not that, there is just a really bad bruise here," he said, gently running his finger along a spot on her lower back.
"It doesn't hurt anymore," she reassured him.
She stepped out of her dress and underthings and then Bash slipped her nightgown over her head.
"Much better," she said, turning to give him a kiss before he helped her back into bed.
She thought about how strange it was, after the whirlwind that had been their marriage so far, that it felt perfectly comfortable and normal to have him help her with such an everyday task as changing into her nightgown. She remembered how Mary had told her that sometimes it was the simplest things that made her feel the closest to Francis. Reaching for Bash's hand she whispered "I love you," before falling asleep.
Thank you for taking the time to read this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it! I'm going to try and have another chapter up tomorrow. I might accelerate time a little bit because I feel like the plot needs to get moving. How cute were Kenna and Bash in last nights episode? I loved the scene of them playing in the snow :)
For the reviewer who asked about translating this story into Chinese, I'm fine with it as long as I'm credited as the author :)